Not Your Fault
by Everything-In-Focus-94
Summary: Will realizes that his feelings for Rachel have become more than just friendship. What will be revealed when a terrible, malicious attack ends with Rachel in hospital. Will they get there happy ending? Rated for a bit of blood mild swearing. LONG ONESHOT


You know they say that when bad things happen, things go into slow motion? Will saw it before the twist, before he heard the scream of pain, before the only person who he could ever open his heart to crumple to the floor, the blood pouring down her face as he sprinted towards her.

* * *

It had all happened so quickly for a day that had started so normally, Rachel had already been in the rehearsal room for 15 minutes before the rest of the Glee Club turned up at them, Mr Shue included. Rachel had smirked and shook her head sarcastically as he entered the room clutching his 4th coffee of the day, yawning and running a hand through his hair.

He had jumped a mile as she had said hello, as he had walked in, spilling coffee everywhere before laughing at Rachel's face that was creased into a fit of laughter.

"Jesus Rachel, you almost gave me a heart attack!" he had laughed. She had laughed. The moment had passed. The both forgot about the coffee on the floor... that would turn out to be a fateful mistake for both of them.

15 Minutes Later

"Ok guy's, its 3 days to Regionals. Now we need to get Don't Stop Believing's dance sorted because if we don't there is no way we can compete with Vocal Adrenaline and thrash them... no offence Jesse" Will said softly. The rest of Glee club laughed softly as did Jesse, but Will saw a flash of malice in the boys eye's that he had seen far too often, normally when he looked at Rachel or Will himself.

Will didn't like that kid, he didn't like the way he had played with Rachel's heart , the way that he hadn't even bothered to apologize and he especially hated the way that she hadn't even questioned it, even when she had been the one to walk in on him and Santana in the choir room in a more than compromising position. Will had almost kicked him out of Glee club but that reaction would have revealed feelings that a teacher shouldn't have for a student.

He looked over to Rachel who was chatting quietly to Finn and Brittany, who were holding hands, their fingers entwined, looking thoroughly loved up. When the pair had announced their relationship, Will had expected Rachel to lose it, but somehow she had taken well.

She had grown up these last 12 months, ever since her school girl crush on him they had been getting on better than ever. She was able to talk to him about things that were important and sometimes personal to her, and he had spoken to her about things going on in his life, but she hadn't minded and he certainly didn't try to stop her confiding in him. And with this spurt, this sudden moment in her life that had changed her into a woman, feelings on his side had emerged. Not that he would ever act on them, but feelings none the less. Feelings that probably affected his reaction when she had told him about the choir room incident. It had taken all his will power not go out into the class room and strangle that Jesse kid, but instead he had held her as she had sobbed into his shirt and had patted her on the back, whispering reassurance into her ear.

Rachel sensed his gaze on her and smiled at him, giving a slight wave with her fingers. She looked over at her teacher who appeared to be day dreaming his eyes slightly glazed and staring into the distance. He did that a lot, she had noticed. Well she had noticed a lot about him over the last few months to be honest. Like the way he only shaved every other day, leaving that touch of stubble on his chin that on most would just look slobby but on him only enhanced his looks. Like the way that his eyes darkened into the deepest midnight blue when he became passionate about what he was speaking about or when he sang. _Or when he sang!_ That was a time when his true beauty was revealed. When he sang all the pain and hurt she felt at any given time would immediately fade away, his voice was like an audible version of honey and it healed any of her wounds no matter how deep and sharp.

He gave a sharp shake of his head and his eyes flashed into focus. Rachel chuckled and she turned back towards Finn and Brittany.

"Yeah, ok right guys!" he stammered. "Practice... right practice don't stop believing, partners go." He said shaking his head. Rachel had nearly caught him staring at her; he had to stop thinking like this. This wasn't right for...

"Inspirational speech Mr Shue" Rachel whispered sarcastically as she walked past. From anyone else it would have sounded cruel and he would have told them off, but combined with Rachel's soft smile and warm brown eyes it seemed more like a personal joke between the two of them.

"Ok guys... one to three go" He yelled with far more gusto than intended as he saw Rachel line up in front of Jesse and his arm link around her waist. The opening chords of the song blasted through the speakers and the groups began bobbing on the spot.

"_Just a small town girl... living in a lonely world,_

_She took the midnight train going any where..."_

As much as he hated the kid, he had to admit Jesse had talent. He had made the right decision to let him open the song with Rachel. Rachel stepped forward in complete showbiz mode, flinging back her hair as she sang her part of the song. Will's stomach squirmed as her voice filled the room, with her the other clubs stood no chance of winning. Will looked at Jesse just as that malice filled his eyes again, before disappearing as he sang the next part of the song to Rachel. He span her hard, in a move that they had only put into the routine the other day. Will didn't pay attention to it, it was common for the members to get the occasional thing wrong.

"What the hell Jesse? " Rachel had hissed as Jesse pulled her back from a massive swing.

"You span me way to hard!" she said moodily but also gently, she had learnt the hard way not to get on the wrong side of Jesse.

She felt Finn and Santana walk forward and sing their part. On the second line both couples did another spin, and once again Jesse span her far harder than necessary. As she twisted back, she glowered at him.

"I could have done myself serious injury if I hadn't corrected those swings, its 3 days to Regionals" she whispered trying not to draw attention to the fact they were arguing again. Jesse smirked and looked at her with an expression that she had never seen on a person's face outside a thriller movie. The couples bent over into a swoop and Jesse bent his head to her ear.

"Exactly" he whispered , giving her a slight kiss on the neck. Rachel eyes widened as she was pulled up from the bend and she looked at the floor. She struggled against his grasp but he was stronger and had his hands in places that in normal dancing would be used to lead the partner but in this situation he was using them to control her. Jesse looked at the floor by the piano and smirked.

She saw it. Finn who had watched the whole situation, followed her gaze and saw it. Will looked from Jesse to Rachel to Finn and the floor and he saw it. The rest of the club oblivious to what was going on, _ didn't _ see it.

"_For a smile they can share the night it goes on and on and on and..."_

On the final on Jesse span Rachel with more force than both of the times before and let go of her. She span directly into the patch of coffee that Will had spilled earlier on, the patch that was still slippery and the whole club and Will watched in horror as her leg twisted beneath her, her body slammed to the ground and her face smashed into the piano's corner.

* * *

"RACHEL!" Will bellowed as the whole group rushed forward to where Rachel had fallen. No-body noticed Jesse slip silently out of the room. Nobody cared, about anything but Rachel. The new and improved Rachel had won a lot of hearts.

Rachel groaned and pushed herself up onto one arm. And that's when the pain hit. With an ear-piercing shriek she clutched one arm to her leg and an arm to her chest. The club jumped backwards from the noise .Will recoiled himself but stayed by her side. He turned to Finn and Puck.

"Don't just stand there looking like lemons...Get some help!" he screamed at them. They gulped at the sharpness in his voice, something they had never heard before. They rushed from the room. Will turned back to Rachel, who was still shrieking indescribably, making noises like a torture victim.

"Hey... hey" he whispered, gently cupping her cheeks in his hands. Rachel stopped shrieking almost immediately at his touch and focused on him. She whimpered and pink tears began to stream down her face, mixing with the blood that was gashing out of the wound in the side of her head.

"Mr Shue?" she whispered. He nodded and smiled. She clenched her eyes together, and blinked trying to clear them.

"Mr... shue... why is my vision red?" she stammered , beginning to shake and whimper again. Will bit his lip as she reached up and touched the wound on her head.

She made a faint '_oh_' sound before she collapsed into his arms. Finn and Puck rushed back into the room followed by Sue and Principal Figgins. Will looked at them and groaned.

"Is this the best help you could find!" he bellowed at them. Even Sue jumped this time, her eyes widened into an expression that no one could believe was on her face... fear. She walked over and placed a hand under Rachel's now limp chin and raised her head to the light. Will glowered at her and she stood up hands on her hips.

"She needs to get to the hospital now, she's losing a lot of blood from that wound... who did this?" she said throwing in the question casually. Will stooped down and gathered Rachel's limp body into his arms. He turned and looked at her his face utterly expressionless

"Who did this? WHO DID THIS! Oh you know full well who did this Sue, it was yours and Shelby's little spy, Jesse. Did you plan this, hmmm. Did you actually plan for Rachel to get hurt Sue?" he shouted at her, being careful not to drop Rachel in his anger. Principal Figgins planted himself between the two teachers.

"Think what your suggesting here Will, you are saying that a school teacher planned to ingure a student to get extra funding for her own club, now do you really think that- _I didn't mean for her to get hurt." _Figgins turned and looked at Sue who was staring at the floor.

"What did you say?" he said. Sue looked up at him her face pale as she looked at the limp girl in Will's arms.

"I didn't mean for her to get hurt. I wanted to break her heart , her spirit, not break her. I think Shelby must have had a word with Jesse when they realised our plan wasn't working." She turned to Will.

"When she wakes up, tell her I'm sorry. I don't want to see her when she wakes up, it will only make things worse. I know you'll stay with her" She turned back to Figgins.

"I'm sure you have something to say to me, all I ask is that you say in private" she whispered. Figgins nodded and motioned out of the room. Sue walked out of the door silently. Figgins turned to Will.

"Get her to hospital Will. Don't worry about Sue, I'll deal with this" he said, his voice stiff and his teeth clenched. Will nodded and shifted Rachel weight more evenly in his arms. The wail of an ambulance filled the air and the Glee club looked around.

"I knew you wouldn't get her there in quick enough, so I called them" Brittany said from the edge of the room. The club turned to look at her, she shrugged.

"What I'm not that stupid" she said as Finn's arm crept around her waist and smiled down proudly at her.

Rachel whimpered and shifted in Will's arms, before crying more at her discomfort. Will rushed from the room keeping Rachel in his arms and one hand on her head to compress the bleeding and occasionally wipe her blood soaked hair from her face. He rushed to the front of the school where a crowd of people had crowded around the ambulance. They watched silently as he screamed at the paramedics to help him. One medic paled as he saw the blood on Rachel's head.

"Ok guys, we need to get her to the hospital now. "he said taking Rachel from Will's arms and placing her on a stretcher. Her eyes flew open at the sudden movement and she screamed as the medic straightened her leg beneath her. She looked around confused , before finding Will's eyes. A look of desperation appeared on her face as she realized that she was being wheeled away from Will. She flung her good arm out to him, her fingers grabbed at him.

"Will, please come with me!" she screamed in his direction. Will looked at the paramedic who nodded. Will clambered into the back of the ambulance, Rachel's face relaxed before contorting with pain again as the medic put an ice pack on her leg. Wills hand found hers and he gently squeezed it, running his fingers over the back of her hand. Rachel looked at him confused for a moment before squeezing back as the pain hit once more.

"Dont leave me... please" she whispered. Will looked up at her face, and had to choke back a tear as he saw the tears filling her eyes and the pleading look on her face. He gently pushed back a strand of her hair and she relaxed under his touch, her eyes closed but her body still shaking with pain filled sobs.

"I'm not going anywhere" he whispered back as the doors to the ambulance closed and it hurried away, the siren blaring as they raced to get their passengers to the hospital.

* * *

5 Hours Later

Will sat. Just sat, looking at his hands, twiddling with his thumbs, occasionally looking up at the nurse in the corner for any signal that he was allowed to go into Rachel's room. The last he had heard she was being taken to surgery to set her leg. He sighed, got up and walked over corner of the room before settling into a seat closer to the nurses' station. The nurse looked at him severely but said nothing.

"Will Shuester?" a voice said from beside him. His head flew up and he jumped to his feet again. The young doctor who had spoken to him looked down at his folder.

"Yes... yes. That's me. Rachel. Is it Rachel? Is she ok?" he said to the doctor. The doctor looked at his chart.

"Miss Berry awake , but she suffered a terrible break in her leg. Luckily her arm was only sprained, but she also required stitches in her head. She was also extremely lucky that you carried her to the ambulance... any weight that she would have had to put on her leg may have had terrible consequences, she may have even damaged a nerve, which may have left her paralyzed in one leg." The doctor said coolly.

Will paled at the word _paralyzed. _Thoughts of Artie looking over at the other GLEE members sadly as they danced around him, flew through his head and he felt a sick as the figure in the wheel chair morphed into Rachel, smiling sadly in the wheelchair , only capable to tap one foot along to the music.

"Bu- but, she's alright isn't she?" he stammered. The doctor, nodded at him and motioned down the hallway.

"Yes as I said, she was lucky you carried her... She spoke very fondly of you actually, especially since she was experiencing such discomfort. Its nice to see such a dedicated young couple." he said softly sensing Wills sadness at the previous part of the conversation.

Will flushed in shock and his eyes widened.

"Oh were not together- together... I'm her... well I'm her friend really" he stammered

" The last few months we've gotten very close. Especially after an incident with her... JESSE!" he suddenly bellowed as he remembered how the incident had come about. He also felt slightly guilty as he pictured the coffee forgotten on the floor, the secondary cause of the accident.

The doctor motioned to a door on the right.

"Your _friend _is in there" he said his voice soft but heavy with implications. Will glared slightly at him and pushed the door open.

* * *

Rachel's eyes opened wide as Will entered the room. She looked at the clock above her bed.

_5 hours?_ She mouthed at him. He shrugged his shoulders and whispered his greetings to her.

"Hi" she said softly. She tried to ease herself further up the bed, before hissing in pain as her leg moved beneath her.

"No Rachel, hang on, don't move like that" he said rushing over to her side. He gently placed a hand on her good arm stopping her from forcing herself further up. She stopped at his touch and looked up at him.

"Right now lean slightly forward, not too much... yes like that" he said. He reached behind her and pushed the pillows into a more upright position. He paused before placing his hands on her torso and gently easing her towards the pillows, so she was able to sit up without causing herself any more harm. Even though he had been as careful as possible, she still groaned as her leg moved.

"Oh shit Rachel, I didn't hurt you did I?" he stammered. Rachel merely looked at him and laughed.

"I don't think I've ever heard you swear before sir" she said through a soft laugh.

"I think we're a _little _past you calling me sir, Rachel" he said quietly. Rachel frowned before realising what he was saying.

"Hey don't you dare blame yourself!" she said sharply. He looked at the floor and she cupped his chin and made him look at her.

"It was that bastard Jessie's fault NOT yours. Sure you left the coffee on the floor but either way I would have gone onto that piano and done my arm in and bashed my head. Hell I'd probably even broken my leg without slipping, it was more the way I landed then the slip itself. Besides both of us saw the spillage, either of us could have mopped it up, but we didn't. So don't you dare" she said sharply. She looked away from him and towards the bedside table. She frowned in confusion.

"Hey... where the heck did those flowers come from?" she muttered. Will flushed and smiled for what seemed like the first time since arriving at the hospital. He had chosen and bought the flowers from the tiny gift shop in the hospital and had requested that they were put in Rachel's room for when she woke up.

"Not a clue" he muttered, smiling. She turned and her face broke out into a huge grin.

"Oh they're beautiful Will... see I didn't call you sir then" she said poking her tongue out at him. He chuckled.

"Glad you like them, the shopkeeper kept suggesting so many things I was so confused. Then he suggested whether I that if I would like something for a _special _someone... I should go for roses. Its amazing how many people thought that we were together in this hospital. The doctor thought so as well" he said shaking his head.

Rachel flushed.

"What like _together_- together?" she said shocked. He nodded slowly. She huffed softly.

"Wow that's the third time now" she muttered softly. She turned and looked at Will who was looking at her questioningly.

"Well, you remember that time on parents evening when my dad came up and introduced himself whilst we were talking?" she said. Will nodded slowly.

"Well apparently before you introduced yourself he had thought you were the _nice young man I had been going on about_. And also that time we bumped into each other at the movie theatre, the popcorn girl congratulated me at snagging such a _gorgeous guy, _as she put it" she said shrugging her shoulders. She failed to inform him that at the later time she had not only, _not_ corrected the girl but she had also agreed with him.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them.

"Rac-"Will began. He was cut off by a doctor walking into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I'm afraid visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow, and collect your girlfriend, but I must insist that she at least stays the night." He said sounding apologetic.

The two shot glances at each other and smiled. Neither bothered to correct him. Will leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'll come get you tomorrow" he whispered pulling away from her. She nodded sadly as he got up and walked towards the door.

Will sighed and walked through the doors towards an unknown future. But not before looking back and seeing the girl smile up at roses he had left at her bedside.


End file.
